DA councillor's mystery R1.2m mall payoff

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Honorary Master

DA councillor Shadow Shabangu, who was recently cleared by the party of sexual harassment, has been accused of receiving R1.2m in kickbacks from a developer. The Sunday Times reported last week that Shabangu was cleared of sexual harassment charges and the female leader who made allegations against him was charged for making false claims.

Shabangu this week admitted receiving R1,220,000 from the developers of the Springs Mall, but denied that it was a bribe. A report by the Ekurhuleni municipality found that Shabangu, the DA caucus chair in the council, received payments from the developers of the mall.

The council adopted the report last year, but the DA has not taken action against him. The chair of the DA's disciplinary committee, Mervyn Cirota, who dismissed the charges against Shabangu, is now representing him as the councillor's personal lawyer. The DA's Gauteng provincial executive chair, Mike Moriarty, said the party had learnt about the report only on Friday following questions from the Sunday Times.